File photo | The Flint JournalFormer Flint Mayor Don Williamson and the City Council have a history of feuding. In 2005, Williamson sits in front of the Flint City Council after being subpoenaed to answer various charges dealing with money and city business.

FLINT, Michigan -- Some city officials are mulling a lawsuit to get back $115,000 in taxpayer-funded retirement money former Mayor Don Williamson secretly received just before leaving office.

Council members are expected to discuss the issue Monday behind closed doors on advice from the acting city attorney.

Williamson famously took just $1 a year for his salary and declined other benefits during his five years in office. However, Williamson quietly requested the six-figure payment into a 401(k) account just weeks before resigning last month.

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About Monday's meeting

• The City Council will hold a Special Affairs Committee meeting at 4:30 p.m. and its regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday on the third floor of City Hall, 1101 S. Saginaw St.

"This was just a way for him to get additional money he doesn't really deserve," said Councilman Scott Kincaid, who asked for a legal review of the payment. "I want to sue him to get it back."

The Journal could not reach Williamson for comment. A woman who answered the phone Friday at his wife's car dealership, Patsy Lou Buick GMC, said Williamson was in Florida.

Williamson also has said he wants back pay for the $102,000 mayor's salary he had declined while in office.

Flint resident Johnnie Clemons, 64, said he voted for Williamson, but that it seems as if the former mayor is going back on his word.

"It seems like everybody's just out to get money," he said. "I guess he changed his mind. I don't think I'd be allowed to do the same thing."

Williamson, facing a recall election, resigned Feb. 15 for health reasons, and temporary Mayor Michael Brown said he will fill in until a new mayor is elected in August.

If the city files the lawsuit against Williamson, it would add to Flint's growing legal tab even as it faces a $14-million budget deficit. Brown's office revealed last week that, on top of $16 million in lawsuit losses the city already is appealing, Flint faces another six to eight potentially "high-liability" lawsuits.

It also would be the latest in a string of legal feuds between Williamson and the City Council. The council sued Williamson in 2005 for violating the charter, and the then-mayor sued the council over the 2008-09 budget.

Williamson, who won office in 2003 and 2007, made a point during campaigning that he would work for free. He ended up accepting $1 a year in order to qualify for the city's attorney-client privilege.

Chonte Jackson, 28, of Flint said Williamson did a lot for the city, especially with paving roads, and the council shouldn't waste resources on a lawsuit.

"They should just give him what he wants, what he deserves," she said. "Anything more than that should be put back, but they shouldn't waste money to get it."

First Ward city Councilman Delrico Loyd said if it is found that Williamson was wrongfully issued the money, the new administration should join with the City Council in trying to get it back.

"Anything (Williamson) is entitled to, he should have it," Loyd said. "But if it's not his money, we need to aggressively pursue it. That's money that could be used in the police department."

Communications Director Bob Campbell said that Brown also has questions about the legality of the funds and that the acting mayor supports the law department's inquiries into the issue.

Kincaid said Williamson should not have received benefits retroactively. Even if that were appropriate, the retirement funds should have been based on 25 percent of his actual salary -- the pension rate when Williamson was elected.

"He was paid $1 a year, so he would be eligible for 25 cents a year," Kincaid said. "He violated the city's trust."

City benefits manager Robert Erlenbeck said Williamson inquired about the retirement benefit in May or June, and officials in the legal, human resources and finance departments all concluded that the retirement payment was proper.

The mayor appoints the city attorney and finance director.

Erlenbeck said there is precedent for giving employees the 401(k) funding retroactive to their hire dates, even if they don't immediately enroll in the program. And Erlenbeck said that even though the mayor was taking only $1 per year in pay, the city used the salary Williamson would have received -- $102,000 -- to calculate his retirement benefits.

Acting City Attorney Angela Watkins has said she is researching the issue and would discuss it at Monday's closed session.

Kincaid said he would rather discuss it in the open.

"I don't believe any of the information I've asked for should be hidden," he said.